Commission
proposes a Transport Community with the Western Balkans and takes further steps
in strengthening cooperation with neighbouring countries in the transport
sector

The European Commission adopted today a package of
measures aimed at improving transport connections between the European Union and
its neighbours. It proposed a mandate in view to negotiate a Transport Community
Treaty with the Western Balkans and reported on the good progress in the
exploratory talks that followed the adoption of the "Guidelines for transport in
Europe and neighbouring regions".

"Transport connections are key to connecting people and companies. This must
be an integral part of our policies with regard to our neighbours. I am
particularly pleased that following our exploratory talks with the Western
Balkan countries, we can now propose to establish a transport community, which
will help to interconnect infrastructures and align rules for safety,
environment and services. Such transport Community is a concrete way of
fostering regional cooperation, stability and peace in the true spirit of Jean
Monnet", said Vice-President in charge of transport, Jacques Barrot.

The package of measures adopted today now proposes negotiating directives for
a treaty establishing a Transport Community with the Western Balkans. The
objective of the treaty is to establish an integrated market for infrastructure
and land, inland waterways and maritime transport and to align the relevant
legislation in the Western Balkan region with Community legislation.

The establishment of the Transport Community would accelerate the integration
of the transport systems within the region as well as with those of the EU. It
would also speed up the alignment of the relevant legislation and allow
transport users and citizens to benefit from the accession process more rapidly.
The Transport Community would also provide operators and investors in the
transport sector with legal certainty, thereby stimulating and speeding up the
necessary investments and economic development.

At the same time, the Commission reports on the progress made on its
Communication[1] on
Guidelines for transport in Europe and neighbouring regions. These
guidelines outlined the first steps of a comprehensive policy for closer
integration of the EU transport system with neighbouring countries. The policy
focused on five main transport axes used for international trade and on the
relevant standards and legislation affecting the use of these routes by all
transport modes.

The final objective is to develop common rules for the transport sector as a
whole and thus create an effective transport market involving the EU and its
neighbours. The Communication also announced the launch of exploratory talks
with neighbouring countries to assess their interest in strengthening the
existing coordination framework.

The first round of the exploratory talks has now been held with all the
neighbouring countries in the North, South, North East and South East, as well
as around the Mediterranean Sea. The talks are progressing well and have already
been successfully concluded in the Western Balkan region.

The Commission will make concrete proposals to implement the policy in the
other neighbouring regions in autumn 2008, following the outcome of the second
phase of the exploratory talks.